On rural tribal lands in the United States, almost 70 percent of residents lack access to the Internet. Indigenous leaders from communities in Canada, Mexico, and the US are coming together to share their solutions on building new networks to solve this problem, and bring affordable, reliable Internet service where it has never reached before.

The Indigenous Connectivity Summit will be held November 8th and 9th in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A collaboration between the Internet Society, the Internet Society New Mexico Chapter, New Mexico Techworks, the 1st-Mile Institute and the First Mile Connectivity Consortium, the event aims to promote community-led networks as a viable option for bringing internet connectivity to indigenous populations.

From Mark Buell’s, Internet Society’s Regional Bureau Director for North America,  op-ed in the Albuquerque Journal:

The free two-day event at the Hotel Santa Fe will facilitate dialogue between community network managers/operators, indigenous-owned internet service providers, community members, researchers, policy makers and indigenous leadership. Dialogue will address building and using a network, with topics including using digital platforms for cultural preservation. And while the goal is to support increased network access for indigenous communities, anyone interested in building a network is welcome.